


Speed dial

by Nerdqueenofthepumpkins



Category: Homestuck
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Collegestuck, Gen, Humanstuck
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-10
Updated: 2015-09-11
Packaged: 2018-04-20 02:07:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,721
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4769519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Nerdqueenofthepumpkins/pseuds/Nerdqueenofthepumpkins
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When Karkat is in deep troubles, he always speed dials the one number he knows will always answer, Kanaya's. ((Okay the summary is crap, I suck at this. This is some pale!KarNaya based on the "person A is lost in the rain and calls person B for the rescue" trope.))</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Part 1

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! Thanks for reading! This is my first published fanfiction on this site, also my second published Homestuck fic, sorry if the characters are OOC. I am not able to write long, Vantasesque rants yet, so Karkat might be too silent for you, I don't know. But enough chitchat, enjoy!

 

Kanaya is exhausted, after hours of note taking for new, complicated notions in class, having to work a double shift at the local fabric store, and dealing with Eridan and Vriska's crap for days. She is so tired, she goes straight for her bed without talking to any of her roommates, eating or even undressing herself. Just as she is about to fall asleep, her phone rings. Not just any phone, her emergency phone. Sometimes, just like at this precise moment, she deeply regrets  being such a caring person and giving that phone number to people she liked. That's how she ended up trying to defuse Eridan and Vriska's relationship, and how she found out she had very good reasons to punch Gamzee in the face hard enough to break a few bones. She checks the screen, promising herself to decline the call anyway, but the name chiming up stops her hand. 

 

" _ **Karkat Vantas**_ ". That is more than unusual. He never calls on this phone, he  _texts,_ because he knows he is too loud and doesn't want everyone around him to know about his emotional state when he is feeling that bad. The only times he does call, it's never good. One time his named appeared but it wasn't his voice, and that had scared the living daylights out of her. 

"Karkat?" She answers. 

"Hey Kanaya." His voice is soft, too soft and too low. 

"Karkat what's wrong? Where are you?" She inquires, sitting up. 

"I need your help." He murmurs. "I did it again... I got lost, kind of, fucking idiot that I am. Can you come pick me up?"

"I'm on my way." She said, jumping out of bed. "I'm on my way right now, don't move. You still have that GPS thing Sollux made, right?"

"Yeah... I'm- I'm activating it." His voice is trembling, she can feel the stammer coming and she feels way more than concerned. 

 

Kanaya runs to her car, only to be stopped by Jade handing her an umbrella. 

"It's a downpour outside, where are you even going?" She asks. 

"Karkat ran away from his frat house, I have to go pick him up. Do you mind if he sleeps here for some time?"

 

Jade shrugs and Kanaya drives as fast as she rationally can, calling him back. Karkat's voice is even lower when he answers, when she asks if his throat is sore he mutters: 

"Must be the damn the blood loss, I can't even see straight anymore."

"The WHAT?!" She exclaims, almost snapping her brakes as she stops in the middle of the road. The car slides on the wet pavement and she needs to turn really fast to stay on her lane. 

"Oh yeah, I got stabbed... Long story..."

"Karkat, how long ago was it?" She asks, so much louder than she usually speaks. 

"I don't know man... I feel sleepy... I don't even have the energy to think of good insults."

"Hey, stay with me! I'm almost here! Keep your eyes open! Karkat?"

"Hm?"

"Karkat!"

"You remember the first time you picked me up?" He asks weakly. "I was such a fucking mess back then."

 

Of course she does. You don't forget your heart skipping beats because you were so scared that easily. But if she could get him to talk and stay awake...

"Not much, tell me about it." She answers, and Karkat talks. 

 

_It had been raining for days, perks of the early November weather. Karkat was 14 years old and Kanaya was waiting for her 16th birthday so she could drive by herself. The sun was already down when he called her, his voice was quieter than usual and she felt uneasy. He said he had ran away from his mother's house and that he needed a ride to the nearest hotel. He sounded scared, and Kanaya forgot she was 2 years under the age of driving a car alone. She left a note to her mother, checked if Porrim was still sleeping and snatched her car keys. She put her phone on speaker and talked with him the whole time. He explained he couldn't stand his stepfather's alcoholism anymore, and tried to talk to his mom about it. She called him an ungrateful child, he yelled he would have preferred to live with the Vantases than to live with her. He said he wanted his father back. She insulted Kankri and him, cursed the whole Vantas bloodline and anyone who had helped them. Karkat screamed that he never wanted to see her again and that when she'd wake up, he would be gone. She yelled back, he ran to his room and packed a few things, went to her cupboard and took all the cash he found there. When he was about to pass the door, she threw a vase at his face. He ran, he ran for miles, not looking back, swearing he would go live in his father's house with Kankri. That's how he got lost, all alone under the rain, in the wrong part of town._

_By the time the story was finished, Kanaya had arrived, and Karkat ran to her arms, blood dripping from his messy hair and tears running down his face. Dolorosa was already home when they got back, and she was more than angry. But when she heard Karkat's story, she was ready to go call the Pryopes to take him back to his father's house. Unfortunately, he didn't have the right to go see his paternal family because of a long and tiresome trial his mother had won when his parents divorced. The only contact he had was through the Maryams and Kankri when he saw him at school. The next day, they tried to revoke the mother's rights._

 

"We didn't win that one." Kanaya comments with nostalgic smile. "Not back then."

"Yeah..." He murmurs. "It took some time to get her off..."

"I am approximately 3 miles away from you, can you stand up?" 

 

Her lights hit him just as he is doing so. She stops the car, runs to him and walks him to the passenger seat, blood oozing from his left arm. She ties her scarf around his arm to stop the bleeding, but he is not getting better like that. 

 

"What happened to you?" She asks softly. 

"I told you, I got lost. I was asking my way around and a guy named Jack Noir said he would walk me home. Only, the douchewheel pulled out a knife and I got away with only this because I was fast enough. Fucking psycho."

"You have to be more careful." Kanaya pleads. She tries to make it sound like a lecture, but she's so relieved she found him she can't sound serious.  

"Wait, where are we going?" He exclaims after some time. "This isn't the way to your flat!" 

"To the ER." She answers, turning up the radio. 

"What?! No! Turn the car around! I don't need to got to the hospital!" Karkat cries out, tuning the radio down again with his bad arm. Blood passes through the scarf and he winces. 

"You are ruining my seat with blood because you were stabbed! This probably needs stitches, and who knows what was on that blade before?"

"I'm pretty sure there was pumpkin at some point."

"What?!"

"I'm fine, I don't want to go to the fucking hospital, let's go home,  _please_!"

"I'm sorry Karkat, I can't do that. Now sit tight or I'll have to knock you out again."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! I didn't give much information about our two heroes here the last time. They're both 23 in the present events. Karkat got into a fraternity just so he could have a roof above his head and be independent, Kanaya is roommates with Jade and Roxy. He is short, slightly chubby and pale as a sheet because of his albinism and dyes his hair red so he could blend in his ginger family. She is way taller, skinny, with a dark chocolate like skin and short black hair she hides under African styled head wraps. 
> 
> Next part in 5, 4, 3, 2...

Knocking out Karkat Vantas was a trickier task than what most would expect. You had to be swift, you had to take him by surprise, and you had to be ready for days of pure rage emanating from him. Kanaya only did it once, because she had no other choice. Once again, they were in her car because he had ran away from home.

_They were both 16 at the time, and he hadn't reunited with his father yet. Instead, he was living with a relative, whom he called Mr. Crab, and would stay out way later than he needed to. Sometimes he would just leave and Kanaya's phone would chime with notifications indicating he was too far from home too late at night. Thanks to Sollux, who had made a tracker for KK's phone in case he would get lost again, she would find him easily and bring him back home before the 9/8c program. But that day, he had ran away with his backpack and turned off Sollux' tracker. He really didn't want to go back home and got out of the car at the next red light. He was screaming and kicking, completely hysterical. Kanaya parked the car and ran to the nearest corner store she could find, bought a frying pan and came behind Karkat's back, hitting his head like a golfer would hit a ball. He fell on the ground, in the middle of a sentence, looking peaceful again._

_"I'm sorry." Kanaya murmured, patting his head. "I couldn't let you sleep outside, not again. You'll live with us for now, until you get your ideas straight again."_

 

At the hospital, the doctors say Karkat has lost a lot of blood and are surprised he is still awake. He gets out with a few stitches and antibiotics because he can't tell if his tetanus shots are up to date. They also gave him something for the pain and he can swear he'll fall asleep soon.

"I fucking hate hospitals." He mutters, crossing his arms.

"It was only stitches, nobody is dying and I'm taking you back home. It could have been worse." She answers, revving.

She refuses to look at him, and the car is silent for too long.

"You're still pissed at me." He comments.

"What for?" Kanaya asks, her tone flat.

"For that time during winter."

"No."The answer comes too quickly, Karkat knows she is lying. He decides to roll with it, because his head feels heavy and he knows he can't get the truth out of her if she doesn't want to tell him.

"Then why are you so quiet?" He asks.

"Because... Because you did not listen to me!" She exclaims, still not looking at him. "I'm trying my best to protect you from the world, Karkat, but I can't do it because I can't protect you from yourself! How many times did I tell you that frat house was bad for you? How many times have I told you to stay at my flat instead, because it was safer? But no, you did not listen to me, and you ran away again! You ran away and you got stabbed, for goodness' sake! What good am I on your speed dial of you don't trust me for giving you a correct home? What good am I on your speed dial of I can't stop you from being a stupid idiot who gets hurt for trusting the wrong people? Look at that, I'm not even good at picking up the pieces, I should be comforting you and I'm screaming at you! Damn it! Karkat?"

Karkat's head is resting against the window, he is snoring lightly. He looks peaceful, more peaceful than he ever did in the last year. College does that to you, you end up being too exhausted to rest correctly without help. Kanaya can't help but smile and brush a few of his red curls away from his eyes. She remembers she did the exact same gesture years ago, when they were still teenagers and she thought she had lost him. That one time he had ran away during winter.He was still leaving with his mother back then, it was during the Christmas season after her 15th birthday.

_They went to the Christmas market with Rose, Dave, Terezi and Sollux, and as a joke the two blonds sat on a Santa's lap and asked the most ridiculous things. Karkat was more than grumpy that day, Kanaya was surprised he didn't smack Terezi away when she asked him to sit on Santa's lap with her. He only rolled his eyes and basically said he was too old for that shit, plus Santa wouldn't let him sit on his lap with eyes and clothes like his. Sollux chuckled because except for Dave and Terezi, they were all dressed in black in a Christmas market and that Karkat was probably the least freaky looking of the group. Santa heard them and directly asked him what he wanted for Christmas with so much compassion in his voice Karkat winced._

_"I just want my mother to get the fuck away from me. Also I want to see my dad's face again, maybe even Kankri." He muttered, and Terezi and Kanaya exchanged a knowing look._

_"Oh." Santa said. "I'm afraid I can't do much about that."_

_"Yeah, I know fucktard, no one can." He turned around and walked away, his steps crunching on the fresh snow._

_"Karkat, wait!" Dave called, but he only flipped him off and continued walking._

_"He's like that with everyone." Kanaya indicated. "Thank you for your patience, Mr. Claus."_

 

_They didn't lose him yet, but Rose could swear it wouldn't be long before he'd call Kanaya's emergency line again. When Latula came to pick them up, he was radiating irritation and sadness, and Sollux reminded him he could call any time he needed to talk or yell at someone._

_A few hours later, Karkat's mother almost broke down the Maryam household's front door by knocking too hard. When Dolorosa opened, she pushed her, screaming:_

_"Where is he? Where is my son? Why have you taken him?"_

_"What do you mean?" Ms. Maryam yawned._

_"Karkat didn't come back home after he went to that ridiculous Christmas market, I know he is with you!"_

_"I can assure you Latula only brought Kanaya home yesterday evening." The older mother said in a tone colder than the snow on the ground._

_"I don't believe you." The other spat. "Call your kids."_

_"Caroline, it is barely 2 in the morning. I will not wake my daughters up because you are not responsible enough to look after your son."_

_"I'll do it, then." Caroline pushed Dolorosa out of her way and climbed up the stairs, calling for Kanaya and Porrim. The youngest groggily opened her door and Karkat's mom ran in, looking all over the room for her son._

_"What the hell is going on?" Porrim asked, rubbing her eyes._

_"Karkat disappeared." Dolorosa said, and Kanaya thought the Earth stopped turning for a second._

_Of course he did. Caroline reeked of tequila, her eyes couldn't stay focused on an object for more than a few seconds, she was a mess in general._

_"Get out of my room, Caroline." She said, her voice steadier than she thought possible. "Get. Out."_

_Without waiting for an answer, she got down to the kitchen and called Sollux. He hadn't heard from him, and neither did Terezi, Dave or Gamzee. The Maryams dressed up and got out in the cold, searching for a rude 15 years old emo kid who didn't want to be found. They couldn't file a police report yet, it was the only thing they could do. They were joined soon enough by Kankri and Sollux, who had sneaked out. Terezi and Gamzee were the last ones to make it to the searching party, calling Karkat's name over and over again. The sun rose and Kanaya had never felt so worried in her life. She tried to keep the tears inside, but she still was a nervous wreck. She felt like she should have taken him home with her, she should have said something. The guilt was worse than the concern, and Kanaya really thought her heart was ready to crawl out of her throat._

_She was about to call the police, unable to wait longer, when her emergency phone rang. " **Karkat Vantas** ", the screen said. Everything around her felt silent. _

_"Karkat?" She answered, silently praying for him to be okay._

_"No." A male voice answered. "This is Dr. Brown, from the St-Joseph hospital."_

_Kanaya felt like she was about to throw up._

_"Am I talking to Kanaya?"_

_"Uh, yes, it's me, but-"_

_"Mr. Vantas was found in the snow on Boucher Street early this morning."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dun dun dun! Sorry I had to cut it here. The next part will be up soon though, maybe Saturday or Sunday. Thanks again for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> So, how was it? Please tell me, comment away, my English is not perfect and I'll probably need to revise things. This was supposed to be a one-shot, but I wrote about 3/4 of the thing and I was not satisfied of the end, it'll probably end up being a 3 part fic. Oh, before I forget, that story will be filled with flashbacks, because as you have seen, it happened multiple times. They will always be italicized and in the past tense. I think that's all. Thanks again for reading, hope you liked it!


End file.
